1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus.
2. Related Art
In a recording apparatus which forms a given image by discharging ink of a given color from a recording head to paper transported onto a platen, it is necessary to accurately secure the flatness of the paper. In a case where the flatness of paper cannot be accurately secured, the degree of landing precision of ink deteriorates, so that there is a possibility that a problem such as color unevenness may arise.
Therefore, in the past, a technique of improving the flatness of paper by forming a plurality of through-holes in a platen which faces a recording head and a transport belt which moves along the surface of the platen to transport paper and suctioning the paper by negative pressure through the through-holes, thereby making the paper follow the surface of the platen, has been disclosed.
Such a recording apparatus has a heater which promotes drying of ink discharged onto paper. Further, the platen which supports paper is made of metal such as aluminum. For this reason, during printing and drying of ink, heat conduction becomes different in a portion of the platen in which the through-holes are formed and the other portions, so that a problem of drying unevenness such as occurrence of marks of the through-holes in a printing surface arises. This is particularly conspicuous in a case where water-based ink is used. In this case, printing quality cannot be maintained.
In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a technique of avoiding drying unevenness by providing a metallic mesh plate which has an equivalent size to that of the platen and in which a plurality of holes or grooves smaller than the through-holes of the platen is formed therein, on the platen. The mesh plate has a very thin thickness compared to the platen.
JP-A-2009-234208 is an example of the related art.
However, a metallic mesh plate having an equivalent size to that of the platen is expensive, thereby incurring costs. Further, handling is also difficult due to the size or the thin thickness thereof.